HTC is now effectively worthless

HTC's stock has fallen as
much as 60% this year.China
Photos/Getty images

Investors in HTC decided in Monday trading in Taipei that the
Taiwanese smartphone maker's brand was effectively worthless.

The company's stock fell as low as 56.80 new Taiwan dollars
before closing at 57.50 new Taiwan dollars in Taipei on Monday,
Bloomberg reports.

HTC's market value actually fell to below the 47.2 billion new
Taiwan dollars ($1.5 billion) it had in cash at the end of June,
meaning investors saw no value in the HTC brand or the factories
or other assets the company possessed.

Were it to boost sales, the company may be able to regain some
ground. But its forecast for third-quarter sales is as much as
48% below analyst estimates, Bloomberg reports, which means this
isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Sales have fallen by more
than 75% since 2011, when the company had a market capitalisation
of 900 billion new Taiwan dollars.

Since then, HTC has struggled in the face of stiff competition
from Samsung as well Chinese brands such as Huawei, which is
selling a lot of mid-range phones. There are simply
too many Android brands on the market right now, and some,
like LG, are making only 1.2 cents in profit per handset sold.

The company plans to cut costs and focus on the high-end market
to boost profits, Bloomberg reports, but analysts don't see these
changes turning the company's fortunes around in the next two
years.